The “Ân” in Beauty as a Decisive Element in the Manifestation of Love

Abstract

The “beloved,” around which many clichés were formed, and her/his qualifications occupy a very important place in Ottoman literature. Many words used to describe the beloved have gained versatile and deep meanings over the centuries, surpassing their known counterparts. The word “ân,” which is related to the emotional bond between the lover and the beloved, in almost all dictionaries, emphasizes the inexplicable aspect of the beloved as “something that is difficult to describe, understandable but inexpressible, something that can be felt rather than defined, known with the pleasure of observing, a conscientious meaning.” This state, which is difficult to express even today, is met with abstract words such as “charm,” “vibe,” and “energy.” This word, which is related to the spiritual bond between people as well as the attraction that causes the emergence of love, is positive in almost all the poems that could be identified, since attraction can be corporeal or spiritual, as well as sensual or negative. For this reason, the emphasis on positivity is important and is decisive in determining the direction of the meaning of “attraction.” Understanding the “charm/ân,” which has deep meanings and dimensions, is important in making sense of “beauty” as well as poems. This article focuses on the dimensions of meaning by referring to which meanings are used by Persian and Ottoman poets, first by looking at the equivalents of the word in the dictionaries, and then by examining the adventure of attaining meanings.